


No Spiders

by Pastel_dreamer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Planet, Blood, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Description of Injuries, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Lance has a fear of spiders, Major Character Injury, Spider Bite, Spiders, dead aliens, klance, low-key klance, set in season 2, the relationship is not the main part of the story, there is a really big spider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-06-23 16:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15610125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pastel_dreamer/pseuds/Pastel_dreamer
Summary: No spiders.It was one of the great things Lance liked about space. But when an alien planet calls on the paladins to help get rid of a 'monster' that has been terrorizing their town and killing their people, Lance will have to face his fears, even if that means trying to take down a giant killer spider.*Complete*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I always had this headcannon that Lance had a fear of spiders, so I decided to write something about it. This is my first Voltron fanfic, so I really hope it turned out all right. :)

No spiders.

Lance had to admit, there was a lot of things he liked about space. Hot aliens, beautiful planets, the adventure of kicking the Galras’s ass and saving the universe with his friends, it was pretty cool most of the time. But there was one small thing Lance had found he really liked about space.

No spiders.

Today was the one of the few times when the team had some downtime. They were on their way to a planet who had recently sent out a request for help. Keith was training, Pidge was off somewhere with her computer gathering information, Hunk was working on a new recipe, and Shiro, well Lance didn’t know what Shiro did in his downtime, but it was probably important. Which all meant Lance had time to himself. He wandered down to the observatory room and sat down close to the thick glass, watching the stars and planets race by. Letting his mind wander, he got caught up thinking about Earth and the time when his fear of spiders began.  

Lance grew up in a large family living in a small coastal city in Cuba. When he was younger him and his three older siblings would always go out to play in the ocean and explore the small town. A favorite spot for them to go was a wide dirt road that skirted most of the town and lead down to the pier. Trees and rocks rose up from one side of the road and backyards and fences lined the other side. Not to many cars came down that way either, and it was close enough to the house so they could hear their mother shouting for them to come in for dinner. During the day they would would play for hours, pretending to be daring space pirates and rangers. At night Lance could go with his older sister out onto the road and look up at the thousands of stars sprinkling the sky while she pointed out different constellations he learned about in school.

It was a another warm summer day, with a slight breeze coming off the ocean. Lance and his two brothers Marco and Luis, were playing one of his favorite games. It was a complicated game to say the least, involving space rangers, pirates, and a lot of rules that tended to change based on the boys whims. Lance was the handsome space protector, assigned with the task of taking down the evil pirate. He sat crouched in the bushes and trees, waiting for the perfect moment to come out and tackle his older brother Marco in the road, who was playing the evil pirate. The rough underbrush scratched against lance’s arms as he inched forward, smiling as his brother pretended not to see him.

“Oh, I’m the dreaded pirate! I’ve come to take all the gold from this small planet and no one can stop me!” Macro said, waving his hand around like it was a hook, “Not even Lance the protector could stop me now!”    

Lance couldn't help but giggle and he scooted forward, preparing to run out. A rock pushed sharply into his palm and he pushed it out of the way, feeling a tingling sensation before what felt like a sharp pinprick on his wrist. The boy looked down just in time to see a large black spider making its way up his arm. Game forgotten, Lance screamed, running out of the bushes in horror and shaking his arm.

“Lance, Lance, what happened?” Marco said, slight panic in his voice as lance almost ran into him, “Are you bleeding?” At this point the spider had dislodged itself from the crying boy’s arm and was now crawling on the road a few feet away.

Lance pointed at it with teary eyes, “It bit me!”

Luis came out from the bushes where he was hiding and was now looking down at the spider with curiosity, “Is it poisonous? Will Lance die?” He said, which caused Lance to break into more tears.

“Oh, don’t say that." Marco scolded, "Lance you’ll be fine. Let me look at it.” He took Lance’s wrist, examining two little red marks, “Does it hurt?”

Lance nodded his head, looking close at the two dots, “I didn't do anything! I just moved the rock and it bit me.”

Marco nodded in understanding, “Spiders can be mean sometimes. We better go see mama, she’ll make it better." He took Lance's hand and lead them off the road, calling over his shoulder, "Come on Luis, leave the spider alone or it might bite you too.”

Luis dropped the stick he was about to poke the spider with and hurried to catch up with the other two boys as they returned home. On the way back Lance could feel the pain starting to go away, and then disappearing completely as him and his brother explained to his mom what happened. One band-aid and kiss on his arm later, the bite was out of Lance’s memory.

It was about an hour later when Lance’s arm began to hurt. It was like the worst cramp he had ever had. He looked down and to his horror the two little dots on his wrist had gotten bigger. The pain had started to spread too. It was in his chest, in his legs, _everywhere._ Panicking he went to his mother, teetering a little as his head started to spin. He felt sick. Very sick. He couldn't concentrate on anything, his head pounded, and everything seemed to _hurt_. Maybe Luis was right, he was poisoned. His mom, thoroughly freaked out, ordered his sister to watch over his brothers and she carried him to the car, rushing him to the doctor. Lance had hated the hospital, with its scary white hallways and doctors in his face asking what the spider looked like and what had happened. Lance had never wanted to go home more in his short life.

Turns out he was bitten by a Black Widow, and a few shots later he was back on his way home with orders to rest for the next week. The experience stayed with him though, and from that day on Lance was terrified of all spiders, and avoided them at all costs.

The years came and went on the island of Cuba and when Lance left Earth and his family behind to go to the space garrison and become a pilot Lance was relieved to find that spiders were creatures that seemed to only terrorize Earth.

Now here he was. It had been just past a year since him, Pidge and Hunk chased after that boy on a hoverbike and started their new life as paladins aboard the castle. He had seen a lot of planets, hiked through forests and dirty towns and was glad to announce spiders didn't seem to populate any other planet either.

His thinking was interuppted by Allura’s voice coming over the coms.

“We have reached planet Jebroth, please get ready to depart and meet in the control room in twenty minutes.” Lance got up and brushed himself off, looking out the window to see a large green and pale blue planet come into view. It was beautiful  “Come on Lance, you’ll see home soon enough,” He said quietly to himself and made his way back to his room, changing into his blue paladin gear and joining the others in the control room, where Allura stood in the middle, viewing some map displayed on the large, clear screen.

Lance was the third one to enter, followed shortly by Hunk and then Keith. Pidge and Shiro had already taken their seats, and Coran stood near the princess, where the two muttered about landing and some gravity equations.

When everyone was settled, Allura turned to face them. “Hello everyone, did everyone have a nice rest while we were traveling?”

"Great!" Hunk said, "I finally got that recipe down, looks like we're having dumplings for dinner tonight."  

"Nice! I was getting tired of food goo." Lance said, reaching over to fist-bump Hunk.  

“Why are we here?” Keith said, cutting straight to the chase. “You told us they asked for a favor? What exactly do they want?"

“Yes," said Allura, "I have just received a message from them. They complained of a, well a ‘monster’ of sorts. It has terrorized and killed their people and they have asked for the paladins help in chasing it off or killing it. They said it should be an easy task.”

“If it’s an easy task why do they need our help taking care of it?” Pidge asked, a little suspicion creeping into her voice, “Couldn't they just take care of it themselves?”

Allura shrugged. "Reports say their species are generally shorter than you humans, and their population is very small too. I doubt they even have a serious military.” Pidge nodded in understanding.

“They promised to ally with us if we defeated this 'monster',” Shiro said, “What do they have that could be useful?”

“Oh I know this!” Pidge exclaimed, “I’ve been looking into the dynamics of their planet and it’s quite strange. Their planet seems to be hidden from radar scans because of the electromagnetic fields of several large asteroids that surround the planet. It’s quite interesting, and unless you actually knew the exact coordinates of the planet, it would be near impossible to find,” She pressed a few keys and pulled up a simulation of the asteroids and the magnetic fields.   

“Good job Pidge,” Allura smiled, “She's correct, we could use the planet as a base to hide if we ever need to do repairs or recover. In addition they also have some supplies that are harder to come by elsewhere.”

“So what's the plan, we go in, kill this monster and boom, we have another ally?” Lance said, spinning his bayard around in his hand.  

“Almost.” Coran chimed in. “We'll be splinting up today, but I came up with a plan. I'll stay back to guard and keep the castle ready in case something goes wrong. I'll also be paying attention to the coms if things turn bad.”

Allura nodded. “Me and Shiro will go meet with the head council to discuss peace arrangements and politics.”

“And let me guess, I'll be in charge of kicking some monster butt?” Lance said, smiling and almost dropping his spinning bayard before catching it again. Keith rolled his eyes in the background and Lance could hear Pidge giggle.

"Yes. Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Keith will be in charge of taking care of the monster,” Allura said, “But if any of you need something we'll have our coms on as well.”

“We would like to keep it just for emergencies though,” Shiro said, “That means Lance, keep the singing to a minimum this time.”

Lance rolled his eyes but smiled, “Fine, you all are just missing out then.”

“Cool, all sounds like a piece of cake to me.” Hunk said.

“Yes, this all seems a little too easy,” Keith said. “We just have to chase off some weird creature and they’ll trust us enough to share their planet and supplies?” 

"Yeah, I agree." Pidge said.  

Allura nodded, seeming to brush off their worries. “This monster has killed their people for a while now, I’m sure it seems like a fair deal to them. Luckily a civilian kindly drew us a rendering of what this ominous ‘monster’ looks like, so you can know what your about to get into.” She pulled up a picture in front of her on the screen, enlarging it so the five paladins could see.

“What?” Lance whispered, feeling his stomach drop. The other paladins muttered under their breath. 

Lance leaned closer just to make sure he was seeing correctly.

It was a picture of a giant spider.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins figure out what to do about this 'monster' that is terrorizing the town and Keith, Lance, Hunk and Pidge go after it.

 

It was a giant spider. Lance couldn’t believe it. What were the quiznacking odds this monster from another planet halfway across the universe would be a spider?

Keith was the first to break the silence, “Is this a joke? It’s just a picture of a spider.”

Allura frowned, “No, this is very serious Keith. What is this Spider?”

“On Earth we have creatures like that,” Pidge said, “But they’re a lot smaller, usually the size of a coin,” She added quickly, seeing the panicked look on Coran’s and Allura’s faces.

“Earth sounds like such a strange place,” Allura mused, “But knowing about these spiders, you’ll be able to take it down easier, right?”

“Sorry guys, but I’ll have to tap out on this one.” Lance cut in, looking away from the giant picture of the spider plastered on the screen. “Lance McClain doesn’t fight spiders. In fact, he doesn’t even make a habit of going near them.”  

“Pidge Holt wasn’t aware we were talking about ourselves in third person now.” Pidge said.

Hunk spoke up, “Lance didn’t you tell me back at the academy you were terrified of spiders? I remember you were really excited when you found out they were only on Earth.”

Lance could almost feel Keith smiling behind him. “Yes, okay, so I don’t like spiders. They freak me out! With all those eyes and fangs,” Lance shuttered.

“I don’t blame you,” Hunk said, "I’m not a big fan of them either. But I wouldn’t really call them scary.”

Under Shiro's warning stare Keith tried to keep a straight face. “How can you be scared of spiders? They eat bugs. Most of them don’t even bite.” He leaned closer to Lance, dropping his voice to take on an ominous tone. “In the desert, I woke up every morning to find a spider somewhere on me. There were so many of them, crawling everywhere in the cabin.”

“Keith, be nice.” Shiro said, while Hunk and Pidge tried not to laugh at the look of fear on Lance’s face.

“That’s gross Keith.” Lance said, turning to glare at the rest of them, “And this isn’t funny, any normal person wouldn’t like spiders.”  

“Oh I didn’t imagine the great fearless Lance would be afraid of some little spiders,” Pidge teased, ignoring the look Shiro gave her.

“Alright, aright, we need to focus back on the mission,” Shiro said, “Lance you’re ability as a sharpshooter would be important in helping to take the spider out from a distance away. Hunk’s canon has power, but with a few well aimed shots to the joints in the legs, you could make it a lot harder for it to walk, jump, or run.”

“I don’t know guys. Can’t I go with Shiro and Allura?” Lance said.

“And sit through politics all day? You would be bored out of your mind.” Hunk said, “Come with us Lance, I’m not a big fan of spiders either, we can back each other up.”

Lance sighed. He was going to regret this, he just knew it. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Allura smiled. “Good, it’s settled then. It’s time to go down there and introduce ourselves.”

Lance sighed but stayed quiet as she piloted the Castle of Lions down into the atmosphere, landing in a clearing right outside the small town. The huge forest stretched on for miles in all directions around them, some trees even taller than the castle.

Allura and Shiro took the lead and the group stepped out of the castle into the bright sun to be immediately greeted by a crowd of about a hundred aliens all making loud clicking noises. They were about three feet in height, slender, and a pale green. Four large eyes looked up at them, and below that four long arms clapped.

“The clicking must be some kind of cheering,” Pidge said quietly to the others as they waved at the crowd.

The head of the village stood at the front of the crowd. Old and a lot paler then the other aliens, he introduced himself as Jemir. He shook Allura's and Shiro's hand, the sleeves of his robe he was wearing almost touching the ground. “We are ever so grateful Voltron has decided to help us. You see, there has been something attacking and taking our people. It comes at night, destroying property and dragging our people off with it into the woods.  Please we ask you, find it and kill it, and the town would be forever in the paladins debt.” The crowd behind him all started to click again.

Allura smiled. “It would be our honor to help you.” She addressed the crowd, “Thank you all for coming out to greet us, the paladins of Voltron will rid you of this horrible creature!”  And the crowd clicked more enthusiastically.

“No pressure right,” Lance whispered over to Hunk, who nodded and smiled nervously.

“Let us go,” Jemir gestured for them to follow, taking off towards the town. “I will lead you to the start of the trail where it was last seen.” They followed him through the crowd, who all parted respectively. They seemed to be in awe, and Lance caught whispers of conversation floating between them.

“Do you think they can really do it?”

“I thought Voltron was just a myth.”

“Move! Please, I must get through!”

The last one came from a older looking alien. Lance paused. She carried a bundle with a child wrapped inside with two of her arms, and pushed her way through the crowd with the other two. She stopped in front of Allura and the group, tears in her four eyes. Jemir moved to get her out of the way but Shiro held up a hand and he stopped.

She struggled to fight back tears as she spoke. “Thank you-thank you so much for coming. My son, my oldest son was taken by this horrible thing. He was only a child, and every night my children cry for him.” The crowd had grown silent, Lance’s chest felt heavy. “Please, if he’s alive, can you bring him back?”

Allura nodded, smile now gone. “If he is out there, the paladins will bring him back for you.”

The mother smiled sadly, hope in her eyes. “Thank you. Me and my children will forever be in your debt.” She bowed to them, turned, and quickly walked back into the crowd.

Lance could see Pidge rub her eyes a little before straightening up. She knew what it was like to lose a older brother, and Lance had no doubts she whatever she could to find this kid.

Jemir nodded solemnly, and they continued to walk. “Her son was the most recent kidnapping. The monster broke right in and took him from the bed, nothing we could do.”

“How big is this thing?” Keith asked.

“Oh, it’s the biggest thing I’ve seen besides the trees itself. Taller than any of you.”

“Thanks.” Keith said.

“At least you shouldn’t have a problem finding it,” Allura said, a slight concern in her voice.

“Great,” Pidge muttered.

They were in town now, small wooden houses were built between tall trees and wide dirt trails wound their way through the entire town. Lance could see faces peering out of small windows, watching them leave. Jemir stopped at the end of town, right where the road ended and the forest began. “This is the path it takes when it comes.” He pointed down at a small worn trail, almost hidden by the underbrush. Around it deep scratches almost as high as twenty feet had been gouged into the tree trunks.

Lance peered into the tall trees, feeling nervousness start to grow inside him at the thought of going in there to track down a spider.

Allura turned to Jemir. “Thank you for leading us here. Me and my friend Shiro will stay here and discuss plans for a new alliance with you and sort out details. Meanwhile Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge will go hunt down this monster and find the child.”  She gestured towards the four and Jemir nodded. “A big task for ones so young, but I have no doubt in you all.”

“Remember, Coran will be listening to the coms and so will we. Call if anything goes wrong and we'll find you.” Shiro said.

The four nodded, the air taking a more serious tone as it sunk it what the were about to go do.

“The hope of the town is with you four, travel well and good luck.” Jemir said, shaking their hands.

“Thank you,” Keith said. “We should get going.” One more nod to Shiro and the group of four started off into the woods, Shiro and Allura waving goodbye behind them.

Keith took the lead and the three followed him with Hunk bringing up the rear. Leaves crunched under Lance’s feet and he was hyper-aware of every noise he heard, every branch that brushed past him. No one said much as they made their way down the small, winding dirt path, each one focused on their own thoughts. Trees with dark green leaves towered over them and blocked out any sunlight, the trunks weirdly smooth and shiny. Out of curiosity Pidge reached out and ran her finger along the side of one, frowning as a clear, sticky sap cung to her fingers. Strange. She made a mental note to try and collect a sample on the way back from this mission to analyze in her lab.

* * *

 

The four had been walking for an hour. The ground was starting to get more rocky and they had to focus on where they were stepping so no one would twist an ankle. Lance sighed. He was starting to wish they would just find the spider already so they could save the day and stop walking through this creepy forest. He looked up out of boredom, stopping at what he saw. Pidge bumped into him, frowning.

“Lance what’s wrong?” She said.

“Look at that,” He pointed up into the trees.

She squinted. “It looks like every other tree, what’s the deal?”

Keith and Hunk had stopped as well.

“Look at what's between the trees.” He whispered.

She looked closer and sucked in a small breath.

“Holy shit.” Keith whispered.

Dozens of thick silver threads ran through the trees, criss-crossing and tangling to make some kind of gnarled web. Looking around Pidge could see the shiny threads hanging down all around them, gently waving back and forth. She pulled out her bayard, gripping it tightly. Behind her Hunk did the same.

“We’re getting closer,” Keith said, “Be on your guard and whisper. We don’t want it to know we’re here yet. And keep an eye on the web above in case it’s up there.” The webs only seemed to get thicker down the trail and Lance suddenly didn't feel so good.

After another half an hour of what Lance deemed to be the most nerve-wracking walk ever, they arrived at a small cave made of two large rocks hidden in the trees. Spider webs were everywhere now; hanging down from trees and tangling in bushes, scattered on the ground, and clinging all over the rocks. Lance shuttered as he brushed one off his shoulder.  

“I think I see something over here,” Keith whispered, pointing to the side of one of the large rocks that made up the sides of the cave. They walked over there, their footsteps seeming as loud as waterfalls.

They stood in horror at what they found.

A giant spider web covered the rock wall, and eight bundles of thread hung to it; each one about three feet long.  

“Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is.” Pidge whispered.

Lance stepped closer, hand over his mouth. Some of the thread had came off one of the bundles, exposing what was inside.

It was one of the aliens; and judging by the size, it was a child.  

“No..” Lance whispered.

“I think I might be sick guys.” Hunk said.

“We have to stop this thing.” Keith said, anger in his voice. “Stop looking at them, there's nothing we can do now.” Pidge and Hunk reluctantly looked away, Pidge hugging Hunk.

Keith put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, his throat tight. “Come on Lance,” Lance nodded and turned away from the web, the child’s face ingrained in his memory. Yeah, he wasn’t sleeping tonight.

“So the spider is close,” Hunk said, “How do we find it?”

“There is a chance it might be in the cave right now.” Pidge said, “Jemir said it hunts at night and sleeps during the day.”

Keith looked around, picking up a large rock a little bigger than his fist. “This should work then.”

“Keith, what are you planning on doing?” Lance asked nervously, watching as he tossed it a few times in his hand.

“If it’s in the cave, we need to get it out. I don’t know about you, but I would rather not go in there. I remember seeing a clearing not far from here, we could fight it there with plenty of space.”

“I remember seeing it too.” Pidge said.

“Okay, but is making it angry the best idea?” Hunk asked, backing up from the cave and the projectile in Keith’s hand.

“We’ll get the spider to chase us there then spread out and surround it.” Keith said, walking back over to the entrance of the cave and backing up on the trail. “Get ready to run everybody.”

“Keith wait-” Lance said, reaching for the rock but it was too late.

Keith threw it as hard as he could into the cave. A thud echoed out followed by a brief moment of silence. The four watched in horror as a ominous clicking started, growing louder and louder. Two thick hairy legs folded out of the cave, followed by two more. Lance’s hands shook as he stared. Eight black eyes gleamed out at them, below that two large pincers clicked quickly together.

Keith picked up another rock and hurled it at the spider, hitting it right in the eye. It clicked angrily, scrambling around and climbing out of the cave.

“Run!” Keith yelled, and the four took off sprinting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading, only one more chapter left! I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, I promise the next chapter will be way more exciting! Writing scenes with a lot people is challenging, but I liked doing it and learned from it. Hopefully it doesn't sound all bad lol. I'll try to post again in a week, school starts soon but I hope to finish it before then. :) Thanks again!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!  
> Warning: There are descriptions of spiders, blood, and injuries in this chapter please be careful if you don't like that stuff.

 

The group took off running. Lance pumped his arms, a mix of fear and adrenaline rushing through him. Leaves and cobwebs scratched and tangled in his face and hair as he pushed through them. Beside him Keith did the same, jumping over fallen logs gracefully and glancing over his shoulder. Sure enough, the giant spider was in hot pursuit. It was truly a nightmare come to life. It was about twenty feet tall with thick, hairy, legs that ended in razor-sharp points. Eight large eyes rolled and giant fangs glistened in the sun. It plowed through the underbrush like it was nothing, clicking in anger.

“What kind of brilliant idea was that?” Lance shouted, “Make it angry and hope we can run fast enough?”

“Yeah, was that really the best you could think of?” Pidge said from behind Keith. Hunk nodded beside her, his head down and concentrating on running. Tripping wasn't a good idea right now.

“I got it out of the cave right?” Keith said, “I didn’t imagine it to be this big.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “We need to work on your planning skills.”

He slid into a large clearing, Hunk bumping into him from behind. The clearing roughly the shape of a circle with nothing but tall, green grass. Thick trees rose up like pillars around them on all sides like an arena and overhead spiderwebs glittered in the sunlight.  

“Spread out everyone!” Keith said, as the sound of crashing grew louder behind them, ”Everyone get to a corner, we can surround it and take it down that way.”

“Good luck,” Hunk said, looking nervously back at the trees.

With a quick nod to one another, the four split up. Keith ran to the closest corner on the right and pulled out his bayard, his eyes trained on the trees.

Hunk took the corner opposite Keith while Pidge and Lance took the back two corners. The sound of snapping bushes and branches grew louder and the spider jumped into the clearing, letting out a series of high pitched clicks and rearing up on its hind legs, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Its beady, black eyes darted around, landing on Lance. It felt like ice ran through his veins and he locked eyes with the spider, frozen in place. His chest tightened as he stared up at it, his bayard shaking in his hand. It was just so wrong. Spiders weren’t supposed to be this big, plain and simple. Lance couldn’t imagine what it was like to be those poor alien kids.

It charged at him first. Lance started out of his thoughts and barely managed to roll out of the way. Holy shit that thing was fast, Lance thought.

The spider crashed into the tree just where Lance had been before and stumbled around, about to charge at him again when a large blast hit it in the side.

“Stay away from Lance!” Hunk yelled, his bayard a large cannon and a furious look in his eyes.

The spider clicked, the blast on its side seeming to be nothing but a minor inconvenience to it.

The spider seemed to have a thick exoskeleton, Lance noticed, but with closer inspection, he saw little spaces between the armor right where the joints were.

“Aim for the joints, It seems less protected there,” He shouted to the others, running out of the way to the other side closer to Keith.

While Hunk distracted it with two more blasts, Lance lined up his shots, fighting back a shiver as he fired twice in rapid succession, cleanly shooting two of the spider's eyes out.   

“Nice job Lance!” Hunk called, hoisting up his cannon and shooting another eye out.

“Couldn’t do it without you, Hunk,” Lance shouted back, mustering up a smile despite the twisting, sick feeling in his stomach.

The spider scuttled around, trying to find the four paladins. Black blood dripped onto the ground from its now useless eyes. It crouched down, tension building in its legs as it focused on Hunk. Pidge was the one who saw it first, her eyes widening, “Watch out it’s going to jump!”

She unlocked her bayard, whipping it around and wrapping the thick cable around one of the spider's back legs. Digging her heels into the dirt she pulled, knocking the spider off balance. It struggled against the tight cable around its leg, Pidge pulling with all her might, “I can’t hold it!"

“I’m on it,” Keith burst into action, charging at the spider. He slashed at the back leg, swinging with all his might right at the joint. Blood exploded from the wound and Keith rolled out of the way as the spider kicked out its legs. He was in front of the spider now, looking up right into its hairy face. A bold gleam shown in Keith’s eyes, almost as if challenging the spider to try and kill him. He brought his sword up faster than Lance could see, deflecting the monster’s fangs as it lunged down at him. He dodged and wove out of the way, trying to find an open spot to swing. Pidge still kept hold of her bayard, pulling tighter as the spider continued to fight against her.

Lance ran up alongside Hunk across the clearing and concentrated on shooting at the legs and eyes. It was more difficult with Keith and Pidge so close, Lance was worried if either one of them moved too fast one of the bullets would hit them instead. The unrelenting blasts were seeming to have an effect on the spider though, and it started to become slower in its attacks.  

Something changed.

Lance felt like it all happened in slow motion. Pidge slipped forward, losing her grip on her bayard and tumbling forward into the grass with a shout. The spider kicked its leg free, towering over Keith, who was starting to struggle to keep pace with the swift attacks of the spider as it tried to snap down at him. For the briefest of moments, desperation flashed across Keith's face, and he fought harder, looking for an escape. The spider's front leg rose up, the sharp point ready to stab Keith while he was distracted deflecting its fangs.

Lance's mind raced. Every single cell in his body was screaming at him not to get closer, to stay away from the thing that was pulled straight from his nightmares and run and hide. Stay put and out of danger. But he couldn’t.

Keith could die.

The final thought was what finally spurred him into action.  

“Keith watch out!” Lance shouted, ignoring his fear he ran towards him, shoving his bayard onto his hip. He plowed straight into Keith, knocking him out of the way with a shout and sending them both tumbling into the grass just as the leg swiped through the air where Keith had been mere moments before.    

Keith's breaths were heavy against Lance’s ear. “Thanks, Lance.”

Lance nodded shakily, “We have to move.”

Keith agreed, quickly rolling to his feet and offering a hand to Lance, who took it gratefully, stumbling a little on wobbly legs. If he had been a second too late… Lance berated himself. No, don’t think like that.  

The spider clacked, angry at the lack of skewered humans.

Come on, Lance thought. They had taken on hordes of Galra ships, giant robots, and mind controlling mermaids and yet here they were, getting their asses handed to them by an overgrown spider.

Lance reached for his bayard at his side, but his hand grabbed at nothing but air. His eyes widened and fear clenched his chest. He looked around frantically, It must have fallen off when he tackled Keith.

“Shit!” Lance said, “I dropped my bayard!”

“Are you serious, Lance,” Hunk shouted, still shooting at the spider. “Get out of the way!”

Lance spotted a glisten in the grass, and there it was, just a few feet away. He quickly calculated speeds in his head. He could get to it, then take out the spider. Ignoring the warnings of his teammates he dived out of the way of the approaching spider, grabbing the bayard and rolling onto his back. With a flash of light, the bayard was back in his hands and he fired off two shots, smiling as they hit perfectly at the legs. He started to scramble back up but the spider was quicker than him. It loomed over him, clicking slowly as if it knew it had the advantage. Lance felt like he could almost see the anger in its eyes, see the pure instinct. It didn’t feel anything about killing that kid, and it sure wouldn’t care if it killed all of them, in its eyes, it was just surviving. They were nothing more than pests to it. The thought terrified him.

Its leg came down hard, once, twice, stabbing into the ground trying to impale Lance. He rolled side to side, too busy trying to avoid becoming a kebab to actually shoot again.

“Someone try to distract it! There's a gap under its head! I can shoot it,” Lance called out, quickly diving to the side with a startled shout as the next leg sunk into the grass a few mere inches beside him.    

“I got it!” Pidge ran forward, bayard out in front of her, its end sparking with green electricity.

“Wait Pidge stay back!” Hunk shouted, but it was too late; one of the spider’s legs whipped out too fast for the eye to see, catching Pidge in the stomach and sending her hurtling into a tree all the way across the clearing. Her helmet made a loud crack as her head snapped back into the trunk and she fell to the ground, motionless.  

“Pidge!” Lance yelled in horror, momentarily distracted.

That was all the time the spider needed.

It brought its leg down hard, the sharp point piercing straight through his armor and into his thigh.

Lance screamed louder than he ever thought possible.

Colors exploded before his eyes and he jerked against the ground. Voices blurred around him and clicking drummed in his head. He struggled to focus on the giant spider above him, scrabbling for his bayard with a gasp. The spider prepared to stab him again, bright red blood dripping down onto Lance. He frantically tried to crawl away, but everything was going too fast. He could only watch with horror as the leg began to descend, this time right over his chest.

There was a loud blast, and the leg was no longer attached to the spider.

The hairy limb landed with a sick thump beside him and Lance screamed, trying to scramble away as blood sprayed from it. His leg burned. Panicked voices grew louder around him but it was all too much. No, no, no, no, no. Paladin or not he did not sign up for this spider fighting bullshit.

Keith came at the rampaging spider from the side, jumping high and stabbing his sword right into its stomach, the sharp point piercing through the damaged exoskeleton from the gunshots.

The spider arched up, whipping around towards Keith. Hunk continued to shoot, a resolute look on his face.  

Cursing his trembling fingers and the annoying black starting to obscure his vision Lance steadied his hands, trying to ignore the absolute throbbing in his leg. The spider’s underside was exposed now, just one hit was all it should take. He aimed carefully and pulled the trigger.  The bullet flew, hitting right between its head and body, straight to the heart.

The spider slowed, letting out a few feeble clicks before its heavy body collapsed to the ground, twitching and trembling before going still. The sharp smell of blood filled the air, making Lance feel nauseous.

He didn’t even want to look at the state his leg was in, but if the bright red blood pooling around him was anything to go by, it wasn’t good. It felt like hot needles were piercing into his leg, driving out all other thoughts.

He let his head fall back to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut, dropping his bayard beside him.

“Lance, oh God are you okay?” He heard Hunk say from beside him and he nodded, not wanting to speak.

He felt large hands wrap under his arms and start to pull him away from all the carnage.

Lance gasped at the pain as his leg dragged, eyes flying open.

“Sorry, Lance.” Hunk muttered, setting Lance back down, “I’m so sorry. I-I have to put pressure on it.”

Lance’s eyes widened, “Wait no-” He cut off with a scream as Hunk suddenly pressed down on his leg, apologizing all the while. Lance's seemed his very leg was on fire and he tried to pull away, hands clenched into fists.

“Sorry Lance, I’m sorry.” Hunk said, looking like he was going to throw up. Lance barely registered what he said, pain clouding his thoughts.

"Lance, can you hear me?" Keith's voice came over him and Lance groaned a little, squinting his eyes. Keith crouched down beside Lance, covered in dried blood and eyebrows furrowed.  

As the pain subsided Lance looked up at Keith, his voice small. “Coming to cradle me in your arms again?” He tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace as his leg flared up.

“You do remember!” Keith said, looking at him with what Lance deemed to be an unnecessary amount of betrayal and confusion. Hunk looked slightly amused and Lance winked, trying not to grin at the red that quickly spread across the others face. Keith sighed in exasperation, “We don’t have time for this, we need to get you back from the castle.”  He said, pulling a tight roll of bandages out from a small medical kit on his belt Shiro insisted he brought along. Now that they were here, he was thankful for it.

“This should help with blood loss.” He said. Hunk scooted back and Keith started to wrap up Lance’s leg the best he could. Lance squirmed, damn that hurt.

“Keith warn me before you start prodding around.” He said in a tight voice, trying to pull his leg away.

“I’m not prodding, I’m helping,” Keith said, putting a hand on his leg. “Hold still.”

Lance did his best, draping an arm over his eyes to block out the sunlight. “Wait-” He tried to sit up, panic in his voice, “Is Pidge alright?”

Hunk pushed him back down gently, “She will be, she’s unconscious right now.”  

Lance relaxed a little, letting out a sigh of relief.  

“There,” Keith said, leaning back on his heels to check his work. Lance’s leg was now wrapped tightly with the entire roll. It wouldn’t last long, but it would work. “Come on, let’s head back. Hunk can you go carry Pidge? I got Lance.”  Keith asked. Hunk nodded, hurrying over to Pidge.

Keith wrapped an arm under Lance’s arms, helping lift him up onto his feet.

A wave of dizziness hit him immediately and he leaned into Keith, wincing as he put weight on his leg. It was going to be a long walk back.

“Hunk, are you ready?” Keith asked, glancing over at him.

“Yeah,” Hunk came up beside them, carrying Pidge over his shoulders.

Lance looked around at the scene before him, grimacing. The grass was slick with red and he shuddered at the dead corpse of the spider lying before him. A hand tightened on his shoulder in reassurance, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Let’s go,” Keith said, and the four began the long walk back through the woods.

* * *

 

Even though the sun was shining it was a lot colder then Lance remembered on the way back. It was getting harder to think straight like his head was filled with television fuzz. His leg screamed with every step, despite Keith taking on most of his weight. In an attempt to take his mind off it all, his mind started to drift, back to that long, dirt road in Cuba. Without completely realizing it, Lance began to think out loud.

“This is worse than the black widow,” Lance mumbled, “maybe Lois will be right this time.” Keith frowned and looked over at Lance, completely lost. “Who’s Louis?”

“Young-younger brother. There was Marco too, and my sister. They all told me it was fine but I had to go to the hospital and get shots.” Lance said, talking more to himself than anything now.

That answer didn't clarify any questions Keith had; if anything it just brought up more. He peered closer at Lance. His blue eyes had a far-off look to them, and his breathing was hard and fast. He seemed too out of it to notice he was just rambling now. Rambling was good though, if he was talking he was still conscious.

Keith turned on his com, the small crackling hum filling his helmet.   

“Come in it’s important,” He muttered.

Shiro was the first one to answer. “Keith, what happened? Is everyone okay? Is the monster dead?”

Keith adjusted Lance around his shoulders, “The spider is dead. Pidge is unconscious with a few broken ribs.” He had told Hunk to conveniently leave that part out when he told Lance so not to worry him but now he heard a small gasp from the com, sounding like Allura. Keith continued. “Lance got stabbed in the leg by the spider, I need two CryoPods ready the moment we get back.”  

“We’ll meet up with you and help you carry them back.” Allura sounded worried, which was rare.

“Coran, did you hear that?” Shiro said.

“Yes I did, they’ll be waiting for you,” Coran said over the com.

“Thanks,” Keith said.

They continued to struggle along the trail. Lance was dragging more and more, eyes half-lidded, and he was still muttering something about Cuba and spiders. Keith saw the bandages were starting to stain red with blood. Keith sighed; they didn’t have much time.

“Come on Lance, you can do it. I can't carry you back.” He said, shifting to take on more of his weight.

“Quiznack”  Lance muttered under his breath but tried to straighten up, sucking in a breath.

“Hunk, how are you doing?” Keith asked.

“She’s starting to move a little, she won’t be happy when she wakes up,” Hunk said, looking worried.

Keith nodded, hoping Shiro and Allura would show up soon.

* * *

 

They had been walking for twenty minutes when the two came jogging down the trail.

“We came as fast as we could, is everyone alright?” Shiro asked, stopping to catch his breath. Allura went over to Hunk and Pidge and Shiro went to Lance, wincing in sympathy at the wound in his leg.  

“Hey Lance, can you hear me?” Shiro asked, gently lifting his head up to look in his eyes.

Lance blinked slowly, “It hurts,” He groaned out, “I can barely move it.”   

“You did well,” Shiro said. He turned to Keith, “are you alright?”

Keith nodded, rubbing sweat out of his eyes. “None of this is my blood.”

“Here, I can carry Lance the rest of the way.” Allura said, “Shiro, can you help Hunk with Pidge, I’m afraid she’s still unconscious.”

Hunk easily transferred Pidge over to Shiro and straightened up, rolling out his shoulders. “Thank you, Shiro.” He said.  

He nodded, "I'm glad all of you made it out, we were really starting to worry."

Allura looked over Lance, worry etched on her face. “Oh, Lance. I’m going to carry you the rest of the way. I only ask you to try and stay awake with us.”

Lance nodded and Allura easily scooped him up, his long legs dangling over her arms and head resting on her chest. He drifted in and out of sleep as they made their way out of the woods.

* * *

 

Jemir and about half the village stood at the entrance to the forest, anxiously awaiting the paladins return and news of the spider. A few gasps and mutters ran through the crowd at the sight of Pidge and Lance as the group stepped out of the trees. Jemir held up a hand and they silenced instantly.   

“Are the paladins okay, is the beast defeated?”

“The creatures dead,” Keith said, an empty tone to his voice.

"We have to get him to the Medbay on our ship," Allura said, "I'm very sorry but we can discuss alliances later."   

“What about my child, where is he?” A voice rang through the crowd, Lance vaguely recognized it as the voice of the mother whose son was taken. She came forward, looking around desperately as if he would pop out from behind a tree any minute.

The paladins went silent, not knowing how to break the news. Hunk shuffled his feet, wiping his eyes. Keith looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how. The woman searched their faces. Jemir put a had on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

“Well? Is he hiding? He always did like to scare me.” She was grasping at straws now and tears pricked at her eyes as she looked around at them. “Please, someone tell me he’s alright.”

Lance looked up, his chest heavier than a ton of bricks. His eyes met hers, and he barely shook his head. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.

Never had he seen so much sadness in one face and he tore his gaze away, ashamed for not being able to look at the haunted look in her eyes. The scream that crawled from her when she realized her son was dead would probably haunt him forever.

Jemir took her in his arms, where she buried her face. He looked up that the group. “Thank you, brave paladins. Thanks to you no more lives will be lost to this horrible thing ever again. I hope to see you as allies.”

Allura nodded, clearing her throat. “Thank you. I’m sorry for your losses.” With that they left, leaving behind a heartbroken community.

They made their way to the ship as the cries behind them grew louder. Coran met them at the entrance, looking solemn.  

“I was wondering when you lot would get back, I got everything ready.”

“Thank you, Coran,” Allura said.

Lance didn’t say anything. Blood from his leg had now soaked completely through the bandages, and his head pounded. Everything seemed too bright, and his suit was uncomfortably hot and sticky. All he wanted to do is sleep. but remembering what Allura said he settled for just leaning against her.

"Come on Lance stay with us a little longer.” She said, walking as fast as she could to the med bay without jostling Lance.

The rest followed quickly, Coran falling in step with Keith.

“Keith are you hit?” Coran looked him over, “You're covered in blood,”

Keith shook his head. “It’s not mine." A quick pause. "It would have been worse if not for Lance, he saved my life.”

Coran nodded, “He does tend to do that with a lot of people.”

Keith nodded, his throat growing uncomfortably tight.

“We’re here Lance,” Allura said, setting him down on a bed.

Lance moaned, his head spinning. He was vaguely aware of hands on him, gently pulling off his armor, and placing him into the cool air of the CyroPod where he finally lost consciousness.

* * *

 

When Lance woke up next he was falling. Before he could even process what was happening arms wrapped around him and stopped him. Lance looked up, surprised to meet the purple eyes of Keith.

“You’re awake.” He said, sounding relieved. Dark bags hung under his eyes, and Lance could guess he didn't get much sleep since they got back.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," Lance said, giving him a small smile. He stood up, shivering as the cool air of the castle hit him.

"Let's head back to your room, it's late," Keith said,

Lance nodded, and the two made their way back through the castle.

"Where is everyone else?" Lance asked.

"Asleep, or at least pretending. It's been three days since you went in there. We took shifts watching over you till you woke up."

 The thought of them watching over him made him feel warm inside and he hummed, sleep pulling on his eyes. The two walked in silence the rest of the way, coming to a stop outside Lance's door. Keith led him into the messy room, waiting while Lance went to go change out of the thin pod suit. When he came out he plopped down onto the bed, letting out a sigh.

"That's better." He said, pulling a blanket over him.   

Keith shifted, leaning against the doorframe. “Thank you, for saving me back there. I mean I know you don't like spiders.”  Keith said,

“Lance nodded, snorting. “That is the understatement of the year. I don’t ever want to see another spider again.”

“Agreed,” Keith said, “Get some rest, Hunk and everyone else will come when you wake up.”

Keith smiled a little and turned to walk out, flicking off the light.

“Could you stay with me?” The words came out before Lance had a chance to stop them. Keith stopped, turning back. Lance sat up in bed, pulling his knees to his chest. “I mean if you want.” He paused, his eyes gazing off at something. “I can’t get it out of my head. The scream, the pain, that kid, the spider. It’s like a loop in my mind” He pulled his arms tighter around himself, resting his chin on his knees.

Keith remained at the door. He had never seen this side of Lance before.

“Yeah, if you want,” Keith said after a moments pause. He walked over and sat down at the foot of the bed, looking a little awkward. “Want me to get the others?” He asked, looking at him carefully.

“No, stay here.” Lance said, “I don’t want to be alone.”

Keith nodded. “Then I’ll stay.”

“You can lie down too,” Lance said, scooting over and patting the spot next to him.

Keith looked surprised but didn’t reject, sliding off his shoes and laying down next to Lance on the skinny mattress, their knees just barely touching.

After a moment of hesitation, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, pulling him close and resting his head on his chest. “Thank you, Keith.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Keith didn’t know what to say, so he just hummed in response. He put an arm around Lance, and in the quiet room, the two boys fell into a peaceful sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Yes, so while I really do appreciate spiders, I am Terrified of them so I'm very sorry if any spider anatomy is off I was too scared to look it up and see all those pictures yikes no thanks. That being said I hope you all liked the chapter!! I'm not the greatest at endings lol. I'm always open to constructive criticism so don't be afraid to drop a comment if you noticed something off or if you liked it. :)
> 
> Ooh side note! I'm working on another Voltron fic! Just in time for Halloween too. It’s going to be a longer one, but i’m excited to finish the chapters and put it out there, keep an eye out for it!
> 
> Happy Halloween!! Remember not to stick body parts into squashes!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As I said, this was my first Voltron fanfic, so I really am sorry if the characters were a little off or the writing was clunky, I tried to do them justice. I always welcome constructive criticism or any other comments! :) I don't know when I'll update next, but it should be in the next few weeks hopefully, thanks again! :)


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